Contrasts

For the last week and a half, our family has been on a trip through Canada and Washington.  Today we were driving through the northwestern part of Oregon and into Walla Walla, Washington.  As we were driving, the landscape drastically changed.  From tree-covered slopes and beautiful grassland, it changed to the brown of the high desert.  Now this is my favorite type of scenery.  I absolutely love the high desert, with it's sand and scrub brush.  As we were driving through it today, I was trying to figure out why I like it so much.  Is it just because it reminds me of warmth, and cowboys riding horseback and watching the cattle on the plains?  Or could it be the contrast that the brown has with the green?  I can't think of anything that looks more picturesque than a large, southwestern house, with large, beautiful, vibrant green lawns surrounding it, with sprinklers watering it, and beyond, the dry, brown, scrubby brush high desert.  It makes the green seem so much more green, the lush seem so much more lush, and beauty seem so much more beautiful.  That is probably the reason why I love this type of landscape so much.

And as I was thinking about this, something else came into my mind.  The world is so barren, so stark and dry and ugly.  But because of it's "brownness", because of it's death, because of it's ugliness, it makes the Christian stand out all the more.  It makes the "greenness", the life, and the beauty of the Christian so much more apparent and appealing.  And that's the way it should be.  We are called to be lights, set on a hill.  What makes the light so inviting but the blackness of the night all around?  So it is with the Christian.  The blacker the night, the more barren the landscape, the more brilliantly we will shine forth.  When the people of the world will see us, they will "take knowledge of (us), that (we) have been with Jesus".

God Alone

Dear friends,

For worship this morning we were reading the story of the children of Israel as they journeyed from Egypt towards the promised land.  As they were nearing their destination, suddenly the cloud turned South and led them towards the Red Sea ~ and away from the land of Canaan.  The people murmured, but God had a lesson He wanted to teach them ~ and us.

God changes our plans, leads us in the "wrong" direction, and brings us into a hopeless postion so that we can learn that He is our shepherd, our leader, and our deliver.

He wants to make the situation so hopeless that He, and He alone, could have delivered us.

“Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen.” 1 Timothy 1:17

Of Runways and Faith...

Knowing that I am interested in flying, a friend recently forwarded an e-mail to me with pictures of some of the most challenging runways in the world. The pictures reminded me of my own experience as a 4 year old flying into the old Hong Kong International Airport. It was night as I recall, and I remember sitting in the 747 as we made the final approach. The pilot banked the plane sharply to the right, the wing nearly touching the skyscrapers below us. I don't remember much else from the landing, but one thing that I have remembered is the fact that it was one of the most challenging runways in the world. I actually just looked up some information about it, and stumbled across a newsletter and pictures from a pilot who used to fly into that airport. He says that the runway was incredibly short and that you had to do a hard bank to the right and dive. That's about how I remember it. :) But one thing about it, we had to have confidence in that pilot. Almost all of us have done it at one point in our lives or another. Even when we can't see the outcome, we still have to ahve trust in the pilot.

This whole topic has made me think about how we need to trust our heavenly pilot. Even when we don't see what the outcome may be, we need to trust Him. He knows what is best in our lives. And even when we are so banked in with fog and clouds of doubt, He is still leading and guiding us, and we will make it to the other end safely. God had promised that He will not lead His children in any other way than the way we would have chosen ourselves if we could but see the end from the beginning! What a blessed promise! So even if we're struggling with decisions that will affect our futures, we can rest assured, knowing that God is leading and working everything for our best good, and someday, someday soon, we will be able to stand on the sea of glass with the redeemed of all ages, and falling on our faces before Jesus, thank Him for guiding us safely home! What a day that will be!

Keep courage, my friends! The end is just in sight!